An Unusual Find in the Attic

by Rachel Ehnert, Communications Specialist for Weld County

If you were to find yourself in the expansive, dusty attic of the Weld County Courthouse, you’d likely notice a few things right away: some huddled groups of ancient furniture, rows of old bound court documents, some boxes of old office equipment, some books pushed against the back wall.

Oh, and a teeny-tiny wooden toilet seat. On proud display on the wall, perfectly aligned under a single hanging bulb.

Roughly the size of a head of lettuce, this toilet seat has been smoothly indented by use, and sports the signature green stain of the copper hinges that once held the seat to it’s toilet.

In a structure as old as the Weld County Courthouse, it’s not unusual to find strange old items stowed away in the attic—what is unusual is the fact that never has there been a toilet in use in the courthouse of that size. Never.

Initially, employees wondered if this seat was perhaps a child’s booster seat, which would be placed over an adult sized seat to help teach a small child how to use a toilet. However, as the green copper stains indicate, this seat was clearly attached to a toilet during it’s time of use—meaning, there has to have been a teeny, tiny toilet. Except, there wasn’t.

All toilets that have been used in the courthouse since it’s opening in 1917 were of a regular, adult size. So, how did this small wooden toilet seat find its way to the courthouse attic? Where did it come from? Why was kept at all?

Whatever its history, this tiny toilet seat has found a home in the Weld County Courthouse, where it continues to baffle county employees and residents alike.